Joburg, Joburg, Joburg. Thou seething cauldron of psychoses. How it strains the human animal to live within you.
This afternoon, in broad daylight, Warren came close to being hijacked. He was coming off work, coming to pick me up, and he was stopped at a traffic light in the city centre, light on red, a bus behind him.
Out of nowhere there came two youngsters, apparently unarmed and begging. One approached his car from the rear, one from the side. Warren kept his eyes on both of them, as you do, in Joburg. Suddenly, the one on the driver's side produced a gun from the back of his jeans and leveled it at Warren. Warren did, in my opinion, precisely the right thing - he put the accelerator pedal down and skipped the traffic light.
My partner of 12 years says he wanted to grab the armed youth and drag him across the intersection with him. While I sympathise fully, I'm very glad he didn't, but rather escaped to circle back, fetch the cops,and find out why his guards, who were supposed to be patrolling that corner, were nowhere in sight.
I nearly lost my beloved human companion this afternoon. The guards? They're unarmed, what can they do?
And the laaitjies, who apparently strolled into a nearby shebeen after being cheated of their prey?
Well, I can only take a flying guess at the level of desperation and dislocation from one's own human soul which enables a youngster to amble up to a perfect stranger in a car, in the middle of a busy afternoon, pull a gun on him and demand his valuables. For I can't think that they were after the car. No-one would put out a call for a 12 year old Daewoo. Even for the spare parts. No, it was almost certainly wallet, watch and cellphone they were seeking.
And this is by no means an unusual occurrence in dear Joburg. It happens many times a day. I can hope that, after the guards and police were put on notice, that the pair of robbers went elsewhere. I am entirely conflicted as to whether I hope they made a catch or not. For, appalled as I am that the potential violence of the desperately disenfranchised has struck so close to me, I cannot help but try to understand what depth of dissociation brings forth such acts in human people. It's a grey and black picture, indeed.
And there, but for the grace of something I am only now attempting to understand, these last dozen years, there, but for that luminous, ineffable grace, would most certainly go I.
City centre huh? had a few incidents there myself ...
ReplyDeleteThis JHB is a cauldron of psychoses, best description i've ever heard.
Bless you Terri, and your loved ones. Death walks so close to us, here, each moment demands an extra appreciation.
peace and love
Terri, I feel called to say something here. Not in disagreement of your wondering about the cultural toxicity behind such human encounters, but to offer a different perspective. What you say calls to mind a Dead Prez song that I've always enjoyed, because of its militancy in rejecting the system (civilization). Basically the song talks about being poor, hungry, and having no hope of anything better (not as something in their minds, but as a reality of how the system works). They talk about the various tactics they've used to secure food for them and their families - credit card fraud, securing food stamps, stealing money from the cash register at work.
ReplyDeleteThe one that reminded me of your situation is when they talk about ordering pizza and pulling a gun on the delivery boy to rob him. I have friends who've worked that job, and I've thought to myself that it would be shitty if that had ever happened to them, or me if I was in that situation. But at the same time I totally get where Dead Prez is coming from, and while I would feel very anxious and threatened if a group of men pulled a gun on me while I was delivering pizzas, I would immediately assure them that I would hand over the money and pizzas as long as they didn't shoot me, which they wouldn't want to have happen any more than I would. People in their situation (poor black men) know better than anyone the consequences of getting caught shooting someone (particularly a white person). In the US, if they haven't already been in prison (which is likely), they know friends and probably family members in prison, and will likely end up in prison sooner or later.
The form their struggle takes causes pain and hardship for a lot of people (most especially themselves), but in a way (a very real way) they are some of the most serious members of the resistance. I know that in my life, I - an extremely privileged white person from a wealthy family - have never (yet) risked my life and freedom to throw a wrench in the machine. Not that their tactics are ethical, or are even effective at stopping oppression.
I guess I feel that crime like that is a symptom of a break-down of the social order (the collapse of empire), will inevitably rise as the collapse accelerations, and in fact acts to accelerate the collapse (potentially greatly, in the case of riots). And the faster the collapse happens, the more life on earth will be saved, so despite the potential harm it could cause to me...
Anyway, I would also like so express my appreciation for your incredibly fabulous blog. Thank you!
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your deep insight and anti-civ viewpoints - they're really appreciated!
Love,
T in J
Glad to hear Warren wasn't hurt. Being carjacked taught me a great deal about unpredictability in life.
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